


Nobility

by RegalPotato



Category: Galavant (TV)
Genre: Baby Fic, Childbirth and pregnancy, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-06-03 01:10:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6590569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegalPotato/pseuds/RegalPotato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Madalena finds out she's pregnant, she knows the baby can't stay with her. The DEL wouldn't allow it, if he didn't just kill her for it instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Adelaide

**Author's Note:**

> Let’s write a baby fic, she says. Oh no I made it painful and angsty. Oops. Sorry? Enjoy 3,362 words of Madalena suffering in this chapter...
> 
> The title comes from the name Adelaide (which you’ll understand if you read the fic...) - the french meaning of the name is ‘nobility’.

It was approaching midnight and Madalena couldn’t sleep. She was utterly exhausted – as she had been for at least the last week - body begging her to close her eyes and rest, but the sound of sobbing from the room next to hers was keeping her painfully awake. She threw her head back into her pillow with a grunt of frustration and grabbed a second pillow to try and muffle the sounds, but it just made it harder to breathe.

She made an angry noise in the back of her throat and threw the covers back, swinging her legs out of bed and grabbing her robe. Madalena pulled the robe on and stood up, nausea building for a moment before she shrugged it off and swiped a hand down over her tired face. She stormed out into the corridor intent on threatening whoever was necessary to get herself a quiet night’s sleep, but when she reached the next room’s door, a gathering of women was already there.

“What is going on?” Madalena hissed.

“Theresa’s not very well,” Emily answered her straight away. “She’s having terrible pains with her monthly bleed.”

Madalena rolled her eyes to the top of her head and sighed dramatically.

“Does she have to be so vocal about it? Can’t she just suck it up like the rest of us?”

The other women looked at Madalena in shock; apparently believing she should feel sympathy for the woman who was unnecessarily keeping her awake.

“Have you never suffered during your bleed?”  Emily asked.

“I…”

She had planned on snapping a form of ‘mind your business’ at the woman, but Emily’s words made something dawn in the back of Madalena’s mind. Even when she was close to starving as a young girl, her monthly bleeds had been almost perfectly regular, she’d never had any real issue with them. But as she counted back the days, Madalena came to the horrifying conclusion that she hadn’t bled since before the battle in Hortensia – over two months ago.

“Shit,” she whispered to herself, ignoring the surprised and confused looks sent in her direction and rushing back to her rooms.

She slammed her bedroom door behind her and rushed over to the vanity where she stored various herbs for practicing simple potion making. Luckily enough she’d overheard the other girls discussing this particular potion a couple of weeks ago, and even though the conversation had held zero interest to her, Madalena thanked whichever deity existed that she somehow remembered how to make it. She threw the necessary herbs into a bowl and crushed them together before adding some water and mixing. When the ingredients were suitably combined, she added a couple of drops from one of her potion bottles and the liquid turned colourless.

Wincing at the pain, Madalena pricked her finger and let a couple drops of blood fall into the bowl. Anxiety bubbled in her stomach as she watched the red drops swirl in the liquid. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and started to count. When she reached one hundred, she opened her eyes and stared down at the potion she’d made.

Bile rose in her throat. The potion had turned blue. The bowl crashed to the floor and shattered to pieces. She leant over her vanity breathing heavily, vision swimming, and an acidic taste in her mouth. _No. No, no, no._ The last couple of weeks of exhaustion, random nausea, and lack of appetite suddenly made horrifying sense. If she’d made the potion correctly, and of course she had, that colour meant Madalena was pregnant.  

Ripping off her robe and pulling up her nightgown, Madalena laid a flat hand over her stomach. It didn’t seem any different, but the thought of something – someone – growing inside her finally brought the nausea to a climax, sending her to her knees to vomit painfully against the stone flooring. Tears burned in her eyes as acid burned her throat and mouth. Madalena let the tears fall down her cheeks as she retched. When the nausea finally abated, she sat back and wiped furiously at her eyes.

She was pregnant.

The idea didn’t seem real to her; it felt like a fevered dream – or more accurately, a nightmare. But the potion, her symptoms, the lack of monthly bleeding, all pointed to the same conclusion.

She really was pregnant.

Her first thought was of the night before the battle over two months ago in the royal tent on a Hortensian hilltop. There had been talking, wine, laughter, and when Gareth had leant over and kissed her as if she was the only thing that mattered – well things had naturally progressed from there.

Her second thought was of the thing – baby – growing in her belly. She’d conceived it the night before she’d signed over her immortal soul. Would the power of the D’DEW harm it or affect it in anyway? Not even born and Madalena was already endangering her child’s life – what chance did this baby have with her as a mother. She wasn’t powerful enough to protect herself, let alone the ones she loved.

And her final thought, possibly the most ominous of the three, was of the DEL. She hadn’t known him for long, especially not compared to how long Theresa or Emily had known him, but he was not a pleasant man – quick to anger, quick to judge, quick to kill. If he found out about her pregnancy…Madalena felt her nausea return.

She scrambled quickly to her feet, making a mental note to call down a servant to clean up the mess she’d made – both the shattered bowl and the vomit – and dashed over to the book the DEL had given her upon her arrival. It was a normal looking book on the outside, but between the pages laid all the basics of magical theory. Madalena had barely begun to scratch the surface of her powers, but already she was showing great potential. She could easily teach herself what she needed to know. She flicked hurriedly through the book, eyes skimming down the pages until she found what she was looking for and smiled. Concealment spells were apparently rather simple to master.

\--

_Several Months Later_

Madalena was going to kill Gareth. She was going to finish carrying this god forsaken hell child and then make the trek to wherever the man had ended up just so she could brutally murder him. Painfully and slowly. He’d done this to her, he deserved to suffer as well.

She whimpered and placed a hand against her side as the demon inside her kicked at her ribs for the hundredth time that day. It was a wonder her bones were still intact with how strong the baby seemed to be. Her back ached, her feet ached, and her _ribs_ ached. She was constantly hungry and yet constantly nauseous - even though Madalena was positive she wasn’t meant to have morning sickness this late into pregnancy.

The only people apart from herself that knew of her predicament were Theresa and Emily who, as bloody annoying as they were, had been a damn godsend. It was not as if Madalena had instantly decided to tell the two girls, as she didn’t particularly like them and they tended to be the gossiping type, but when they stumbled upon her almost passed out in a hallway a few months after she’d found out she was pregnant, the two friends had quickly discovered her situation.

At first Madalena had freaked out, believing their discovery to be the end of her and her baby, because the DEL was sure to find out – through snitching or gossiping - but as the weeks progressed nothing came to be except for extra food, helpful excuses to the DEL, and a multitude of subtle assistance. In fact, the two girls had actually become somewhat close to her and though Madalena wouldn’t call them her friends, she was apparently theirs.

They were all in Madalena’s rooms, Emily and Theresa lounging on her chairs whilst Madalena herself sunk into the comfortable covers of her bed. It was early morning and a soft light was filtering through the windows – it was starting to give Madalena a headache to join the rest of her aches and pains.

“I think she wants to get out and see the world, Lena” Emily joked, using the nickname Madalena truly hated – but at least they’d stopped calling her ‘Maddie’ after she’d threatened to incinerate them both.

“ _He_ is definitely going to grow up to be a fighter,” Theresa disputed.

“Whatever _it_ is, it’s making me regret ever having sex in the first place,” Madalena groaned, leaning back against the pillows propped up behind her. “The DEL wants me in his study for fire manipulation practice this afternoon...”

The girls winced in sympathy.

“I don’t think I have the energy to stand, let alone conjure flames.” She sighed.

“Have you thought about what to do if you go into labour around him?” Theresa asked.

“No.”

“But you’re due any week now aren’t you?” Emily prodded.

“Yes.”

“So…” both girls spoke together.

“I’m not giving birth in this bloody place,” Madalena replied. “I haven’t figured out the details yet, but I doubt the DEL would miss a baby being born in his castle. I’m lucky enough that we’ve gotten this far without him noticing.”

“So you’re just going to leave? You know you can’t do that, right?” Theresa whispered conspiratorially.

“Blah, blah, contract for my immortal soul. I know. I wouldn’t be leaving permanently, just long enough to get this monster to its father.”

The girls gasped, looking at each other in surprised amazement before excitedly turning to face Madalena again.

“You’re going to see her father?” Emily squealed.

Madalena rolled her eyes to the top of her head before closing them and sighing.

“Yes,” she answered, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “I’m not letting some random peasant raise my baby.”

Knowing Gareth and his loyalty he was undoubtedly back in Richard’s service. Whilst not the life she’d want for her child – namely growing up without her, even if that was probably for the best – she knew Richard would treat Gareth’s child as his own, meaning the kid would at least grow up treated like royalty. And truthfully, she felt Gareth deserved to know.

Madalena's eyes shot open abruptly as a sharp pain suddenly pulsed through her abdomen. She gasped and leant forwards, mouth open in a soundless cry.

“Lena?” Emily asked, standing up slowly.

Another ripple of pain ran through her and this time she managed to cry out, grasping at her protruding stomach as she bent forwards even further.

“Oh…shit.” Theresa’s face turned panicked and Emily’s matched it a moment later as the two girls realised what was happening. “We jinxed it. What do we do? Oh gosh.”

“Lena, what do we do?” Emily blubbered, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes.

Madalena muttered every curse word she knew under her breath before breathing deeply – in and out, in and out.

“First, don’t you dare cry. _I’m_ the one in fucking labour.” She hissed. “Second, Emily, help me up, Theresa grab the bag under my bed. I’m getting out of the castle.”

It took a moment for the girls to move, but then they sprang into action. Emily rushed over to the bed, sliding her arm behind Madalena and helping her to stand. Theresa dove beneath them and pulled out the large bag filled with clothes and supplies before moving to Madalena’s free side to help support her.

They helped Madalena to her bedroom door, Theresa letting go of her to check the corridor was empty. Since it was early morning most people were thankfully still in their rooms and not out and about in the halls. Another contraction hit and Madalena clenched her teeth together tightly trying to hold back a cry of pain. She let out a high pitched whine from the back of her throat, stumbling slightly as her knees tried to buckle.

“We need to get her down to the village before she can’t move anymore.” Emily whispered loudly to Theresa as the girl came back to help carry Madalena.

“The corridor seems clear for now, but I don’t know how long it will stay that way, especially if Lena keeps making noise.”

“Shut up and let’s go.” Madalena said angrily through her clenched teeth.

They made their way down the hallways towards the servants’ entrance to the castle. Their progress was slow, having to stop every time Madalena had a contraction to make sure no one heard them, but eventually they made it down to the servants’ quarters.

“Stop,” she hissed.

“Lena, we need to keep moving.” Theresa whispered tugging slightly.

“I just…” she breathed out heavily through her nose.

“Your contractions are getting closer together, Madalena.” Emily cried, pulling Madalena tighter to her and trying to move. “If we don’t get you somewhere safe soon, you’ll be giving birth in the kitchens.”

“Wait…”

A warm sensation suddenly spread down her thighs as her waters broke and Madalena winced in disgust. The liquid quickly soaked through the layers of her dress and Emily and Theresa’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh…”

Gritting her teeth together, Madalena tugged them forwards.

“I am going to kill Gareth for this.” She muttered.

\--

The fresh morning air was bliss on her heated face as the three of them stepped into the castle gardens. No birds were singing in the tree tops; it was silent except for the sounds of Madalena’s heavy breathing, her jaw still clenched painfully tight. Emily and Theresa pulled her forwards out of the grounds and towards the village. They didn’t seem to realise how wrong the atmosphere felt.

When they arrived, the village was starting to awaken - shop owners milling around opening their businesses, farmers pulling carts loaded with produce to sell at the market, children out of bed early playing in the streets. They stumbled into the main street, Madalena’s pregnancy and situation obvious to all; people stopped to stare but no one offered any help.

“Where do we go?” Emily panicked, head darting back and forth searching for somewhere safe.

“The inn, idiot.” Madalena answered. “There’s money in the bag, pay for a room.”

The village right next to the DEL’s castle wasn’t exactly the best place to give birth, nor was it the place Madalena had wanted to have her child. She’d planned to be at least three towns over by the time she went into labour, but luck was apparently against her. The inn was at least clean – by peasant standards.

Madalena had never wished for her royal bedroom in Valencia more than she did as the old bar maid led her into a dark and small room. She fell into the uncomfortable bed, withholding a cry as her contractions starting hitting her harder. The old bar maid fled the room only to return with towels and a pitcher of hot water.

“You’re not the first lass to stumble into my inn in this condition,” the woman explained. “You’re going to be okay, girl.”

“Just get this thing out of me,” she groaned.

Thankful she was in somewhat safe hands, Madalena let her head thump back against the wooden headboard as the woman lifted Madalena’s skirts, ripping the fabric where necessary. Emily and Theresa flitted about nervously, jumping at every noise until the old woman sent them to fetch more water.

“Your friends are the nervous sort,” she said.

Madalena didn’t respond, too busy gripping the bedsheets and feeling like she was being ripped apart. Though to be fair to the two girls, they had reasons to worry. If the DEL found out that they’d helped her – and Madalena still didn’t know why they’d started helping her in the first place – death was probably the least of their worries.

“You’re almost ready to push.”

“What?”

“Your contractions are getting close enough together.” She explained.

Madalena just nodded, eyes focused on the ceiling instead of the old bar maid. Contraction after contraction flooded through her for what seemed like hours but realistically must have only been a few minutes. Eventually the woman told her to push and Madalena barely heard her through the sound of blood rushing in her ears.

“Push!” The woman shouted louder.

Madalena’s body obeyed without any conscious thought from her mind. She cried out with the effort as she pushed with everything she had in her, collapsing against the mattress just as Emily and Theresa burst back into the room. They looked terrified, slamming the door shut and locking it both physically and magically. The uneasy feeling she’d had in the castle gardens returned.

“We need to go.” Emily told her, voice more serious than Madalena had ever heard it. “Now, Lena.”

“You can’t move her! She’s too far into labour now.” The old bar maid shouted angrily.

“We’ll have to D’DEW out of here,” Theresa said, rushing to the window and wrenching the curtains closed.

“No.” Madalena struggled to speak through the haze labour had apparently put her in. “Too dangerous. Baby.”

“Lena…the DEL knows.”

Ice flooded through Madalena’s veins at Emily’s words. She knew she was terrified, but she couldn’t figure out why. She barely even heard Theresa shout that they had an hour at best; her body was beginning to block out anything other than surviving childbirth. Another contraction hit her and Madalena pushed hard, nails tearing lines down the sheets, a scream on her lips. She was vaguely aware that the girls were arguing with the woman, but she couldn’t focus. Her head was woozy, hair plastered to her skin with sweat, she felt sick. She pushed again. Hours must have passed as she continued to exert herself. Had the DEL already come for her, was she too far gone to realise.

The next thing she knew the pain was gone, replaced by a deep aching instead. Something was crying at the top of its lungs accompanied by the sounds of someone shushing. Then suddenly someone was placing a bundle of blankets in Madalena’s arms. It took her a moment to realise why, that there was something _in_ the blankets, and that the something was a baby – a girl. She had a daughter.

She’d been ready to be glad about pregnancy and childbirth being over, thinking she’d move straight on to getting her kid to its father, but as Madalena looked down onto the red face of her new born daughter, something bloomed inside her chest. In that moment nothing existed in the world except for her and the baby. The girl was perfect and Madalena realised she didn’t want to let her go.

“Adelaide,” Madalena whispered, the name coming to her easily as she looked down at the baby gurgling up at her. In that instant Madalena knew she’d protect Adelaide with her life.

The door to the room suddenly burst open with a flash of red light. Emily and Theresa screamed and the old bar maid cowered in the corner in terror. Madalena clutched Adelaide tighter to her, heart pounding fearfully in her chest. The DEL marched into the room flanked on either side by a couple of his male apprentices.

Madalena silently begged Theresa and Emily to D’DEW away, though she knew it would do them no good in the long run. Instead, the two girls flung themselves in front of her, putting themselves between Madalena and the DEL. _Idiots_. The DEL flicked his wrist to the side and Theresa went flying, head cracking into the nightstand. Madalena was too shocked to scream as Theresa’s body fell to the ground limply; she hoped the girl was dead, because it was probably the best fate for her. Emily burst into tears, but remained standing in front of the bed. The DEL clenched his hand and she grasped at her throat unable to breathe.

“Stop it,” Madalena growled weakly. “You’re here for me, not them.”

He flicked his wrist again and Emily crumpled to the floor. He turned to Madalena, eyes dark red and furious. His fingers fluttered and Madalena screamed.


	2. Recovery

She vaguely registered the sound of crying, but it was hazy and far away. Her body ached - head pounding, abdomen hurting, breasts tender, and the apex of her thighs felt sticky and damp. She was lying on the floor, something hard was digging into her spine and her clothes were soaked through to her skin. Slowly Madalena opened her eyes, only to shut them tightly with a gasp of pain when the sun’s light made her headache spike painfully. She sat up carefully, shading her head with her hand and opening her eyes once more. She was in the middle of a field; a couple of cows were grazing happily nearby and a herd of sheep were watching her closely.

The sound of crying came into sudden focus and Madalena jerked her head around, ignoring the pain the action caused, to find Adelaide screaming in her pile of blankets. Scrambling to her knees and crawling over to the baby, she picked her daughter up and used everything she knew to check she was okay. As far as she could tell Adelaide was just scared, which made two of them. The last thing Madalena remembered was every nerve in her body lighting up with indescribable pain. Her magic must have D’DEWed them both out of there by itself, and though thankful about it, it did mean Madalena was now stranded in a random field in the middle of nowhere, dress stained and ripped, body barely holding on, with a new born baby to care for.

_Shit._

Cautiously, Madalena got to her feet. Nothing else seemed to have travelled with them, meaning she was stuck in dirty and damp clothing for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the only non-aggressive magic she knew was teleportation and whatever else she’d taught herself – such as her proficiency with concealment spells. Knowing how to magically freshen up clothing was not something Madalena had ever envisioned herself needing – not that she had the energy reserves left for any serious magic anyway.

Adelaide was still warm and dry in her bundle of blankets, the layers too thick for water or cold to seep through, though she would no doubt be getting hungry soon and Madalena didn’t know if she even had enough energy left in her to breastfeed. Gently bouncing her daughter in her arms to try and calm her down, Madalena began heading in a random direction. The field was large, the dewy grass continuing to soak through her clothing as she walked, but there had to be a farm house or village somewhere nearby. And if it came down to it, she could at least try and muster enough magic to roast a cow for dinner.

Eventually she stumbled to the edge of the field and onto a dirt road. It stretched on for miles in both directions, not a soul in sight. With a weary sigh, hefting Adelaide more comfortably in her arms, Madalena once again picked a random direction and started walking.

An hour into her journey, energy drained to nothing but pure determination, a rumbling sound appeared behind her. Relief flooded through her at the sight of a horse and cart. A young man sat atop the cart and some part of Madalena’s weary brain noted he looked a lot like a young Galavant. The Galavant-look-alike seemed startled by her appearance, but instantly jumped down to help.

“What happened to you, milady?” He asked in a slightly horrified tone.

“It’s a long story,” Madalena muttered, more to herself than to him. “I just need transport to the nearest village, I uh…”

Shifting Adelaide – who’d become worryingly quiet in the last half hour - in her arms, Madalena managed to twist one of her jewelled rings off her finger. She held it out to the man, hope plastered over her face.

“I have this as payment…”

The man looked at her in shock.

“Milady, I would not ask for payment for helping out someone in need!”

“What…why?”

“Uh…because it would not be the right thing to do...”

It took the last remaining bit of energy to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the man. Instead, she nodded and offered him her thanks. He helped her climb into the back of the cart and made sure she was comfortable in the layers of hay before he returned to his seat and grabbed the reins.

“The name’s Tobias by the way.” He said with a smile. “You get some rest; I’ll wake you when we get to where we’re headed.”

“M...Lena,” Madalena replied, realising it might not be too clever to give the man her full name. “And again, thank you.”

The man nodded and turned back to face the road. Madalena snuggled down further into the hay, Adelaide already asleep in her blankets. _Lena._ A pang of unwelcome emotion flittered through her chest. Emily and Theresa had been idiots to help her; they deserved what had happened to them. The emotion hit her even harder and Madalena was disturbed to find tears beginning to slip down over her cheeks. She hadn’t even liked them, why did she care if they were dead, even if they had saved her and her baby in more ways than one.

She shook her head, using the hand that wasn’t supporting Adelaide to swipe at her eyes, and decided it must be the hormones and lack of energy that were making her feel this way. Her body was begging her to relax, to shut her eyes and sleep, but as nice as ‘Tobias’ appeared, it was too risky letting down her guard down around a stranger – not that she’d be able to do much against him if he tried to hurt her. She bit the inside of her cheek, using the pain to try and keep herself awake, and focussed on the dirt road fading away behind the cart.

It took all of five minutes for Madalena to pass out from exhaustion.

\--

Madalena woke slowly, dragging herself from the fuzzy expanse of her dreams and nightmares. Her tongue and throat were painfully dry and her mouth felt like cotton. She somehow still felt utterly exhausted which made her wonder just how long she’d been asleep. She froze, eyes still closed, when she noticed she was in a bed and not in a cart of hay. Listening carefully for any sounds that could tell her where she was, her heart rate spiked when she couldn’t hear the sound of a baby breathing nearby.

Her eyes shot open and Madalena almost flung herself out of bed if it wasn’t for a strong arm throwing itself across her. The arm pushed her down firmly and it took her a moment to realise there was a person attached to the end of it.

“The healer said you shouldn’t be getting outta bed for another week at the very least, Lena.” Tobias said gently. “You sure did give me a fright when you wouldn’t wake up.”

“Where’s Adelaide?” She hissed, trying to draw upon her magic and failing.

“Is that the lass’ name?” He smiled. “She’s fine, been feeding her on goat’s milk since you’ve been a bit outta commission. My ma’s looking after her right now, don’t worry.”

“I want to see her.”

Her tone of voice was the one she’d used when threatening people as Queen. Tobias faltered for a moment, as if realising Madalena was more than just a highbrow peasant down on her luck, before nodding and rushing out of the room. After a few minutes without his return, her breathing began to quicken in panic. She was about to try getting out of bed again when the door reopened and Tobias strolled in, Adelaide in his arms. The baby wiggled slightly as Tobias placed her in Madalena’s hold, little hands trying to wave around happily. Madalena felt a smile burst onto her face and held Adelaide tighter. Her daughter seemed slightly bigger than the last time she’d held her and Madalena’s confusion must have shown on her face.

“You’ve been unconscious for just under a week.” Tobias explained much to Madalena’s horror. “I told you, you wouldn’t wake up when we arrived here. Had to get the healer from the next village over. Cost us a bit of our savings to get you all checked out, but it’s worth it to see you okay.”

“Thank you, Tobias. I…don’t really know what else to say.” She said awkwardly. “You don’t know me, but you helped anyway.”

“I don’t think many could stop themselves from helping a woman and child in need,” he smiled, sitting back down in the chair next to her bed and passing her a wooden cup.

She grabbed the cup with her free hand and greedily gulped down the water.

“I need to get going.” She said, passing the cup back to him.

“I’m sorry?”

“I can’t stay. I need to get to the baby’s father.”

“Oh, he’s…still in the picture then.”

Tobias sounded disappointed yet hopeful and Madalena’s eyes narrowed slightly. Men were all the same in the end. Her mind briefly betrayed her by wondering what it would be like if Gareth truly was still in the picture - if he’d spent her pregnancy by her side, if he’d actually been there for her to threaten during childbirth. She swallowed the lump of emotion that had risen in her throat.

“Very much so,” Madalena lied, smiling sweetly.

Tobias’ face fell, though he quickly covered his displeasure at the news by forcing a smile onto his face.

“Well, I’d be happy to help you but the healer was adamant you remain on strict bed rest for a week or two. So I can’t really let you leave, it wouldn’t be right of me.”

“What,” Madalena growled, a flash of fear sparking through her at the phrasing of his words.

“He said you were lucky you weren’t _dead_ ,” he whispered the word, glancing at Adelaide as if the one week old baby could understand. “He said something must have kept you alive, he just wasn’t sure what. I guess God’s looking out for you, Lena.”

Madalena had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from snorting with laughter. If God was looking out for her, she certainly would not be in the mess she was in. She was just grateful that her magic seemed to be incredibly self-preserving.  She nodded politely at Tobias. He stood, muttering something about finding her something to eat, and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Well it seems we’re out of the woods for now,” She murmured to Adelaide. “Just got to get through the boredom of the next week or so, and then we can go find your daddy.”

Her daughter squirmed happily as if she understood what Madalena was saying. She tucked the blankets more firmly around her daughter’s face, stroking the girl’s cheek slightly with her thumb.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Addie.” She whispered fiercely. “And I’ll set alight anyone who gets in our way.”

\--

Peasant life was boring. It was especially boring when you were confined to bed rest and wouldn’t be seen dead doing something as mundane as knitting or sewing. She’d practically begged for a book to read, but Tobias and his mother didn’t own such unnecessary luxuries; in fact he’d been awfully surprised to find out that Madalena could read in the first place. It had been a week and a half since Madalena had first awoken in what she later discovered to be Tobias’ bed. The young man had taken to sleeping in the stables with his horse instead, and though she knew she should feel bad for technically kicking him out of his room, she couldn’t find it within herself to care. Both Tobias and his mother once again wondered how Madalena had ended up in such a sorry state, but she of course refused to tell them. Though from the way Tobias’ mother watched Madalena out of the corner of her eyes, it was pretty clear the woman thought she was an escaped whore or slave.

The only disruption to her boredom came in the form of Adelaide. She was growing rather quickly and had soon begun to recognise Madalena as her primary care giver and dispenser of food. Even though she knew her daughter couldn’t fully understand her, Madalena still talked to her constantly about everything and nothing. She told her stories that were often used as bedtime tales for children, sang nursery rhymes and lullabies, and even whispered tamed down versions of the past few years of her life – though she always made sure to tell her daughter those stories when Tobias and his mother were out of the house or otherwise occupied. She still wasn’t sure which kingdom she was in, but it was better to be safe than for her hosts to find out that she was – or at least had been - the infamous Queen Madalena.  

Though Madalena’s favourite pastime was telling Adelaide about her father.

“He’s an idiot.” She said, rocking her daughter gently in her arms. “That’s probably the first thing you should know about him. Though to be honest, most - if not all - men are idiots, Addie. Mothers are meant to teach life lessons like that, aren’t they? Anyway, when I first met him, he was the head of the King’s Guard for a tyrant…”

She had to stop for a moment to laugh at herself for honestly calling _Richard_ – the same man that was spoon fed by his chef and cried when he got jelly on his fancy pants - a tyrant.

“…a tyrant called King Richard. And knowing your father…and knowing Richard, you’ll probably end up calling him Uncle.” Madalena winced in distaste at the idea. “Your father may be an idiot, but he’s a loyal idiot and can be very clever when he needs to be. And he’s kind. It’s not obvious and he doesn’t show it often, but he looks after those he loves.”

Madalena stopped talking, remembering how distraught she’d been after the Von Falkenberg sisters and how Gareth had gifted her with their earrings. She paused for a moment to rein in her building emotions.

“And oh he’ll love you. You don’t have to worry one bit about that. He would kill thousands just to keep you safe.” She smiled brightly at the thought. “You’ll have him wrapped round your little finger the moment he meets you.”

Her smile fell slightly, remembering that she’d soon have to leave her daughter with Gareth and return to the DEL before…well it didn’t even matter since he would probably kill her the moment she set foot in his castle. But the longer she stayed away, the more likely it was that the DEL would find her _and_ Adelaide. It was safest for her daughter to be without her - that had been the plan from the start. Even with D’DEW Madalena couldn’t protect her as well as Richard’s regal status and army could. The thought hit her hard. She looked down at Adelaide who was fidgeting in Madalena’s hold, mouth twisting in what appeared to be an attempt at a smile. A twinge of emotion flitted through Madalena’s chest as she realised that she didn’t want to let her baby go.

\--

“I never thought I’d be desperate to get out of bed and get some fresh air,” Madalena said as the healer began packing away his supplies.

“Well, you could do with more rest and recuperation, but I can tell the last two weeks of bedrest were enough to last you a lifetime,” the old man said.

Madalena smiled, standing up and wobbling slightly as her muscles acclimatised to the new position. She stretched her arms up, groaning as her back clicked satisfyingly. Tobias walked into the room carrying Adelaide and Madalena didn’t miss the way his eyes roamed up her outstretched body. Letting her arms fall back down to her sides and rolling her shoulders, she walked carefully over to the young man and took Adelaide out of his arms.

“Let’s go for a walk, Addie.”

The front door opened into the village and Madalena couldn’t help but let out a short laugh of disbelief. It looked slightly different than it had three years ago, but there was no mistaking the place for what it was; Galavant’s old village. She smiled at the realisation that Richard’s castle was only a day’s ride away and pushed down the flutter of anxiety that rose in her stomach at the thought of seeing Gareth. She stepped out into the village and breathed in deeply. With a quick look around to check there was no one nearby, Madalena clicked the fingers of her right hand and sighed contentedly at the small flame that appeared at the tips of her finger and thumb. Her magic was back. Adelaide stared at her mother’s fingers in wonder, little mouth open and eyes wide. With a smile Madalena made the flame grow slightly. It flickered in the breeze and Adelaide gurgled in what Madalena had learned was the baby’s attempt at laughter. She laughed along with her daughter.

She had honestly intended on having a short walk around the village to stretch her legs, but with the chance of someone recognising her being so high, Madalena had no choice but to return to Tobias’ house. She spent the rest of the day subtly gathering supplies and planning her visit to Richard’s castle, in between playing with Adelaide and talking to Tobias and his mother. By the time night fell, she was ready.

Madalena left all her jewellery - except the ring Gareth had once given her as a present which she tucked securely into her clothes for safekeeping - on the nightstand beside Tobias’ bed. The family might not want her generosity, but Madalena didn’t need the jewels where she was going. And since she was also stealing their horse in the dead of night, it was the least she could do. One ring alone would be enough to pay for a new horse and she didn’t particularly care if the mare was of any sentimental value. A small sleeping spell made sure Tobias didn’t wake as Madalena saddled the white mare before leading her out of the stables. Adelaide was snuggled in her usual blankets, supported by a baby sling Madalena had fashioned out of a spare sheet. She mounted the horse, careful to make sure her daughter was secure, and set off out of the village.

As they rode towards Richard’s castle Madalena felt the usual burn of magic in her eyes as she cast a few generic healing spells on herself. It wasn’t her best magic, but it was enough to lessen the discomfort of riding a horse. Madalena’s eyes burned again as she cast a concealment spell on herself. She lightened her hair, changed her eye colour, and even added some weight to her body. A couple more spells altered her voice and the tone in which she spoke, though she quickly changed her voice back when Adelaide began to cry at the difference.

She took the journey slowly, arriving at Richard’s castle by mid-afternoon – the perfect time to be a part of the afternoon court. She handed the horse off to one of the stable boys, not really caring what happened to it, and blended in with the rest of the peasants as they entered the throne room. She quickly recast the voice concealment spell, and moved to the centre of the crowd to try and get a better view of the thrones. The man in front of her eventually shifted to the side and Madalena stopped breathing. Gareth.

Madalena’s heart swelled at the sight of him. Simply seeing him in person was enough to painfully remind her of just how much she loved him and for a moment she wondered why she’d ever left in the first place. Adelaide struggled slightly in her arms and the memories of Wormwood, betrayal, and D’DEW all came flooding back. She didn’t regret much in her life, but Madalena wondered, not for the first time, what the past year would have been like if she’d stayed with Gareth when he’d asked. He was stood next to Richard’s throne as expected, and it was as if she had been transported two years into the past, about to attend to the court with her husband. If she had known back then what the future entailed, would she have done everything the same way, would she have allowed herself to fall in love? She honestly didn’t know the answers to those questions.

Richard looked the same as ever, dressed in fine silks and lounging on his throne. Though it was obvious he was different. For one, he was actually helping the peasants of his kingdom instead of raining down misery upon them. He called the next person forward and Madalena sighed as she realised she was in for a long wait. The court was as boring as she remembered, though even more so when she was stood on her feet surrounded by peasants and not sat on a comfy throne insulting them instead.

Peasant after peasant moved forwards to complain about their mundane lives and Madalena tuned them out, focussing on bouncing Adelaide in her arms to keep the girl quiet and to take her own mind off the man stood beside the King. Eventually the group in front of her began to thin out and soon she was the next in line. Taking a deep breath to calm her sudden nerves, Madalena stepped forwards towards the thrones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. Two chapters now without Maddie and Gareth interacting, but you won't have to wait too long for the next chapter hopefully. And I thought it was important to have some Madalena/Adelaide bonding. Hope you enjoyed it.


	3. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. I'm not too happy with the last section of the chapter (I hate writing dialogue heavy plot development parts) but it moves the story forwards so...Enjoy!

It had been almost a year since Madalena had vanished in front of him in Hortensia. He’d spent months searching for her, but with nothing to go on and no cooperation from any magic user he’d come across, Gareth had had to stop. That didn’t mean he’d given up looking, far from it. He returned to his role as Richard’s loyal guard and used his power to send out scouts constantly, to search for information or hearsay, or literally anything that could lead him and his men to the former Queen. He still caught Richard sending him sad looks every now and then, and Gareth knew his desperation to find and save Madalena from herself was painfully obvious to everyone around him.

“You really love her,” Richard had said sometime during the first month of Gareth’s return.

Gareth had just nodded, not exactly wanting to have the conversation.

“And she loves you?” The King had asked with a hint of disbelief to his tone.

Gareth had nodded again, emotion clogging up his throat too much for him to form proper words – because she may have left him on the hilltop in Hortensia, but he had to believe she’d spoken the truth when she’d said she loved him. Richard had just nodded as well, no judgement, no anger or accusations of betrayal, and patted Gareth on the shoulder understandingly.

“It will be okay, Gare Bear.” He’d said, grinning at the threatening glare Gareth had sent his way. “True love always works out.”

And the past few months really had been okay. If Gareth ignored the painful empty space in his chest, life was even pretty good. Richard’s year travelling with Galavant and becoming the One True King had made him a lot easier to deal with. He was still a ponce, but he was stronger and more understanding than he’d ever been before. Roberta wasn’t too bad either. She was good for Richard and she truly loved him for who he was, which meant she was okay in Gareth’s eyes. She was also a half decent sparring partner; quicker and more agile than most of his men, she actually often gave him a run for his money. Richard’s pet lizard, who he’d apparently traded the Jewel of Valencia for, was growing bigger every day. The King was adamant his ‘dragon’ was finally becoming the size he was always meant to be, but Gareth argued Tad Cooper was just being overfed.

It was mid-afternoon and Richard was taking his usual court in the throne room. Gareth was by his King’s side as normal. Roberta was nowhere to be seen – even though she grew up happily as the daughter of a nobleman, she found royal duties incredibly uncomfortable and Richard often suggested she skip court. A young woman, dressed in simple and plain clothing, was the next to step forward. A moving bundle - that Gareth quickly realised was a new-born baby – was clutched carefully in her arms. She was pretty - blond hair to her waist, slightly plump, and piercing blue eyes. Gareth swallowed thickly, something sitting heavily in his stomach at the sight of her.

“Clear the throne room,” he practically ordered Richard. “Everyone except you, me, and the girl.”

Richard looked up at his friend in confusion, but instead of complaining or making a fuss like he would have in the past, he nodded and issued the order. The young woman looked terrified as everyone left the room, holding her baby closer to her and staring worriedly towards the thrones. Richard beckoned her forwards.

“Don’t worry; I’m here to listen to the problems of my people.” He spoke softly. “Why have you come today?”

“My mistress sent me,” the girl explained, her voice thin and unimpressive. “She…um…”

She held the baby out slightly and Gareth knew whatever instinctive reaction he’d had about the girl had been right. Richard looked at him and nodded towards the girl. He walked forwards slowly, stopping just in front of her. She avoided looking at him and held the baby out further.

“Why has your mistress sent us a baby?” Richard asked, voice pitching upwards with anxiety.

Gareth hesitantly took the baby from her and the girl’s shoulders appeared to slump slightly in defeat as she let go.

“Because she couldn’t keep the baby and wanted her to be raised by her father…” the girl muttered, speaking more to her feet than to the two men.

“Her…fath…” Richard trailed off, eyes widening in surprise as he looked between the girl, Gareth, and the baby in Gareth’s arms. “What?”

“She was pregnant.” Gareth breathed, mind fitting everything into place, the painful empty space in his chest aching with renewed intensity. “She was pregnant and she left.”

“She didn’t know,” the girl snapped at him before catching herself and returning to avoiding his gaze.

“Gareth…?” Richard asked, standing up from his throne and moving closer to the pair.

“Her mistress is Madalena. Which makes the baby…”

Gareth was never meant to be a father, unless he counted looking after Richard all those years. His job was to protect the King. He’d never envisioned a future where he held his child, the child of the woman he loved, in his arms. Gareth’s eyes flicked down to the baby snuggled in blankets, little hands curled into fists. It bore no resemblance to anyone, it was just a baby, but he knew the girl wasn’t lying. He felt it somehow, that the baby was undoubtedly Madalena’s, and therefore, his.

“Yours! Oh my gosh, you’re a daddy!” Richard grinned and rushed to his friend’s side. “…oh my god, Madalena’s a mother…”

Gareth sent a glare towards his King, not missing the slightly annoyed look the girl also shot in Richard’s direction. The glare didn’t work as well as it used to, but Richard nodded anyway and became silent, fingers wriggling over the baby in wonder.

“Why can’t she keep her?”

“The Dark Evil Lord wouldn’t approve. He’d hurt her and hurt the baby. And she couldn’t let that happen. So she concealed her pregnancy and sent me here once her daughter was born.”

The air in the room had disappeared. He could sense Richard stood next to him, hand on his arm and cooing over the baby, but everything else was darkness - except for the girl stood worriedly in front of him. He’d never heard of this evil Lord, but he already knew he wanted to kill him for being a threat to what Gareth suddenly realised was his _family_. He felt sick at the thought.

“Prove it.” He ordered the girl.

“I…how?”

“She knows me too well to just send you here unprepared. Prove it. Tell me something only she would know.”

Muscles in the girl’s jaw twitched as she clenched her teeth together and Gareth’s eyes narrowed at the somewhat familiar action. He’d felt it since he’d seen her step forwards, that something wasn’t quite right, and the feeling only continued to grow. She walked forwards gently, standing so she was barely an inch from him and the baby. Slowly, she raised her arm and Gareth tensed, waiting for the trap to fall, but instead of attacking she carefully drew a finger over the scar across his nose.

“You were nine.”

Not many people would know that, but it proved nothing. Her hand moved to trace softly over the scar on his forehead.

“Fourteen.”

Again, it was good knowledge, but not good enough. Her hand moved once more to follow the line just behind his ear at the top of his neck.

“She gave that one to you by accident in Hortensia.”

He closed his eyes.

_Nails scraping over the back of his head, slipping and slicing into his neck. Her gasp, his laugh. Her tongue tracing the line of blood, his groan._

No one but the two of them would know about that. His heart thumped painfully against his ribcage as the realisation finally sank in; he had a kid, with Madalena. Gareth let out a shaky breath, opened his eyes, and nodded at the girl. She moved her hand back, her scent wafting up to him. He inhaled sharply, staring down at her only to find her staring back. And he knew.

Her eyes were the wrong colour, her face was the wrong shape, but there was no longer any doubt in his mind. He frowned and gently passed the baby into Richard’s willing arms. With his heart still beating heavily in his chest, Gareth stepped forwards.

\--

He frowned at her for a moment and Madalena worried that he didn’t believe her, that he wouldn’t take Adelaide and protect her from the DEL. But then he stepped towards her and his hands suddenly framed her face, pulling her forwards into a searing kiss. It was as if she’d never been away from him. He tasted exactly the same as he had all those months ago, of meat and beer and _Gareth_. He made her feel warm and safe and tears began to form in Madalena’s eyes.

He pulled away slowly, thumbs rubbing her cheeks and brushing away a few fallen tears.

“How did you know?” She asked quietly.

“You’ve never been able to hide yourself from me.”

She smiled shakily through her tears and her eyes burned with magic as she let the concealment fall.

“There’s my girl.” Gareth’s voice was soft, and if she didn’t know him like she did, she’d assume he was holding back tears of his own.  

“What the…Madalena?”

Madalena had forgotten Richard was even there, which was embarrassing considering he was currently holding her daughter. She hastily wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks – motherhood apparently made her an emotional mess - and stood up straighter, subconsciously taking a step back from Gareth.

“Nice to see you too, Richard.” She said, though it was an obvious lie.

“Can someone please explain to me what is going on?” Richard whined.

His loud voice stirred the baby in his arms, rousing her from the sleep she’d apparently fallen into. She started crying at her rude awakening, thrashing slightly in the King’s hold.

“Good job, Richard.” Madalena sighed, moving forward and grabbing Adelaide from him.

She rocked the child gently in her arms, cooing softly and humming a lullaby she vaguely remembered from her early childhood. When she glanced up at the two men, she found them both staring at her – Richard with horrified surprise and Gareth with a look so tender that Madalena could feel her heart breaking all over again.

“What?” She snapped at Richard, because ignoring Gareth until she could get her feelings under control seemed like the better idea.

“Oh forgive me, but for a moment there I thought you’d been possessed by someone who wasn’t a horrible person.” Richard said.

Madalena flashed an insincere smile in his direction. She was about to bite back with a witty comment of her own when Gareth spoke.

“What’s the baby’s name?”

Madalena’s eyes flicked over to him to see him staring down at her – their – daughter. Her voice caught in her throat at the unexpected flood of emotion.

“Ad – Adelaide,” she answered before coughing to try and clear her throat. “Her name is Adelaide.”

“Adelaide,” he repeated softly as if testing the name on his tongue.

Silence stretched between the three adults. Madalena couldn’t tear her eyes away from Gareth as he watched their daughter. He was completely focussed on the girl. She gurgled happily in Madalena’s arms, little hands tangling in her mother’s hair, completely unaware of the awkwardness that had developed in the room. Richard fidgeted uncomfortably, eyes darting back and forth between Madalena and Gareth.

“Stay.” He finally seemed to pluck up the courage to speak his mind.

“What?” Madalena turned to face Richard.

“Stay here. With Gareth. With your daughter.”

He was practically begging her and she knew why. Gareth would never ask her to, so his best friend was doing it for him.

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can.” Gareth replied, eyes snapping up to meet hers, apparently finally finding his ability to speak.

“No, Gareth. I can’t.”

“Give me one good reason why not.” He demanded.

“Because the DEL owns my soul and therefore owns me. I don’t want to know what he can do with that power.”

She didn’t want to tell him that she was most likely dead either way. The DEL was sure to kill her as soon as she returned, but if she stayed she’d be putting Adelaide and Gareth in mortal danger. And she had soon realised that she would rather die a thousand deaths than let that wizard touch her baby girl. Gareth looked at her for a moment, face unreadable, before he turned towards Richard. The pair exchanged a silent conversation and Richard sighed before nodding.

“Should I send word to Galavant or should you?” The King asked.

“What?” Madalena hissed.

“We’re not taking down an evil Lord and his minions between just the three of us, Mads,” Richard explained patronisingly. “Time to get the old gang back together.”

“Richard…”

“He’s right, Queenie.” Gareth interrupted, the old nickname seemingly rolling off his tongue without a thought and causing a pang of _something_ in Madalena’s chest. “We’ve got Richard’s army, but it’s small and they don’t know how to fight against magic. Galavant and Isabella could be a real help, especially if we can get Valencia or Hortensia’s army involved as well.”

Madalena’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought of her ex and the Princess helping her, but what choice did she have. She still wanted ultimate power, more so than she’d ever wanted it before now she had something even more precious to protect, but giving up her daughter and having her soul remain in the possession of a madman who sought her death were prices she wasn’t willing to pay.

“Fine.” She spat, seeing no other option. “Where do we start?”

\--

They were apparently starting by visiting Galavant’s disgustingly domestic cottage by the sea. They’d all been quiet on the carriage ride, lost in their own thoughts. Madalena had originally tried to protest the visit, arguing that she did not need to travel with them, but Gareth - who Madalena half believed wanted her there to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t run off again - and Richard had been adamant that the husband and wife wouldn’t believe them without proof. Husband and wife; the idea of Gal and Tiny Tot being married made Madalena feel ill.

“We should have just sent a crow,” she muttered as the trio plus baby trudged up to the front door of the cottage. “This is a terrible idea.”

“Hush,” Richard said and Madalena’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

Richard had really changed in the two years since she’d been his wife. He was still irritating but he was a lot less pathetic than he used to be. And something about the situation had apparently let Madalena put all her trust in the One True King, seeing as he was the one holding her baby whilst Gareth knocked on the cottage door.

“Galavant!” Richard shouted cheerfully as the door opened to reveal the hero.

“Richard…Gareth… _Madalena?”_ Galavant responded, voice pitching up in surprise at the end and eyes widening at the sight of Adelaide in Richard’s arms.

“Galavant.” She deadpanned, pushing past everyone and inviting herself into the cottage.

She’d given birth less than two months ago and she was still recovering from the whole ordeal. Like hell was she going to stand around and have what she knew was going to be a long and boring conversation outside on Galavant’s front doorstep. She made her way into the living area and collapsed onto the comfy sofa, propping her feet up on a conveniently placed footstool.

“Who was at the do…?” Isabella stopped dead.

“Oh look, you’re here too. Great.” Madalena sighed before shouting towards the hallway. “Can we get this started please?”

Galavant entered from the hall, closely followed by Gareth and Richard.

“Richard? You have a…I didn’t even know Roberta was pregnant. Congratulations!” Isabella gushed.

Madalena laughed and Gareth sent her a look that told her to behave. She pouted in annoyance but otherwise kept quiet as Richard tried to explain the situation to the couple.

“It’s…”

“ _She,_ ” Gareth interrupted and Madalena had to duck her head to hide her smile.

“Right, sorry. She’s uh, she’s not mine…” Richard said awkwardly, eyes flicking over to where Madalena was stretching out on the sofa. “She’s…”

“She’s mine. And Madalena’s.” Gareth supplied.

“I…”

“What?”

The couple spoke simultaneously.

Isabella looked like she was going to be sick and the sight made Madalena’s hidden smile turn into a full blown satisfied grin. Galavant looked shocked, probably at least partly due to how much he knew about Madalena’s distaste for children and pregnancy.

“How…?” He managed to spit out.

“Well…” Madalena smirked, sitting up from her lounging position on the sofa.

“Maddie,” Gareth’s tone held a warning.

She sighed and muttered about not getting to have any fun.

“Okay…” Galavant took a deep breath, gesturing for everyone to sit down. “Start at the beginning. What is going on?”

Gareth took Adelaide from Richard and joined Madalena on the sofa, Galavant and Isabella sat together on the sofa opposite and Richard took the armchair. Madalena found herself leaning against Gareth as she started to speak, though if he noticed, he didn’t show it.

“As you may or may not know, just before the battle in Hortensia I signed a contract for my immortal soul to gain the ability to use magic,” she began.

“That was dumb,” Galavant muttered.

Isabella elbowed him in the ribs, though it was obvious from the look on her face that she agreed with him. Madalena glared at them both for a moment before continuing.

“After I was defeated by everyone,” she felt Gareth stiffen beside her as she spoke. “I left to go and train with the Lord of this particular branch of magic, the DEL.”

“And you’re here now because…?” Galavant asked.

“Because when I left I was pregnant,” she snapped, sitting up straighter so her arm was no longer touching Gareth’s, heat rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment. “I…the DEL is…you all think I’m bad, but I’m nothing compared to him. At first, I just didn’t want to die. And then…”

She looked down at Adelaide who was playing happily with Gareth’s index finger.

“And then I didn’t want him to hurt my baby.” Madalena’s voice softened.

No one spoke for a moment until Isabella’s head jerked up.

“Oh god,” she gasped. “I punched a pregnant woman.”

Madalena rolled her eyes.

“ _Anyway_ , the DEL has the contract and my soul and…he may also know I’ve given birth and want me and Adelaide dead…” Madalena continued, speaking quickly and rushing all the words together.

“What?” Gareth growled, head snapping round to face her.

She smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell me this? You were just going to go back to him to die?” He shouted.

“I thought it would be the best way to keep her safe.” She shouted back indignantly before softening her voice into barely a whisper. “I thought it would be the best way to keep both of you safe.”

The anger drained out of Gareth instantly and Madalena found herself panicking at the love for her that she could see in his eyes. She really was bad at the whole ‘having feelings’ nonsense. Galavant faked a cough, jolting her out of her thoughts. She looked away from Gareth, suddenly finding her hands incredibly interesting, and hoped her blushing cheeks weren’t obvious to everyone in the room.

“Why should we help you, Madalena?” Galavant asked. “After everything you’ve done to us…”

“Because, _Gal_ ,” she smiled, a contrast to her annoyed tone, and looked up to face him. “If you don’t, Adelaide will grow up without her mother.”

“Well, that’s not the worst thing that could happen to her,” Isabella scoffed under her breath. “Since _you’re_ the mother she’d grow up without.”

“Listen, Tiny Tot, I’m asking you nicely to help us. I could easily kill anyone in this room without blinking” she hissed, eyes flicking over to Gareth and their baby. “With a couple of obvious exceptions.”

Isabella muttered ‘try me, witch’ and Madalena felt anger and magic bubble up inside her. She leant forwards, eyes flashing red and palms warming as her magic threatened to spill from her hands. Galavant jumped to his feet, hand rushing to the dagger at his belt and moving in front of his wife, who had already drawn her own dagger. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Richard reaching for his Hero’s Sword. It only made her anger burn brighter. She was trying to protect her daughter and these so called ‘heroes’ thought _she_ was the enemy. Her hands seared hotter and she was about to light the room on fire when Gareth spoke.

“Queenie, don’t.” He said calmly.

He shifted Adelaide over and used his free arm to gently push Madalena back. She relaxed slightly and his hand moved to her knee. It felt sickeningly domestic –especially when she felt his thumb shift back and forth against the fabric of her dress - but his hand was warm against her and she felt the fight leave her body.

“Listen,” Gareth continued, speaking to Galavant and Isabella instead of her. “You both owe me for getting you out of Valencia.”

“You started an unprovoked war with Hortensia!” Isabella countered, pushing Galavant back down to sit next to her on the sofa.

“Well technically that was me; it was a present for Gareth’s birthday.” Madalena smirked, staring Isabella down.

Galavant wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“Point is - if it wasn’t for me, you’d either be dead or still locked in the dungeons. You owe me, so you’re going to help me save my daughter _and_ her mother.” His tone left no room for argument.

Emotion welled up at Gareth’s words and Madalena turned her focus to the married couple to prevent herself from dwelling too much on the feeling.

“Fine, alright. We’ll help.” Galavant said, giving Isabella an apologetic look. The Princess sighed but nodded in agreement.  

“Splendid!” Richard grinned. “Now what’s the plan?”

“We stick this dark evil prat with the pointy end of your magic sword.” Gareth replied with a grin of his own.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? An update? What's going on?
> 
> I WILL finish this bloody fic. It might take me forever, but unless I die, it will be done dammit.

The actual plan was apparently more of the ‘figure it out as we go’ type. Gareth rallied Richard’s army and Isabella sent word to Valencia and Hortensia. Their current plan was to ride ahead of the armies, scout out the area, hopefully come up with a better plan, and then meet the armies on the outskirts of the DEL’s lands to implement the full strategy of attack. Madalena, who obviously knew the DEL better than all the others combined, had told them the plan was utterly moronic. But she had no choice other than to go along with it and hope something spectacular happened. Galavant and his friends did tend to come out on top when faced with overwhelming odds.

They’d returned briefly to Richard’s castle to send out the messages and gather supplies and horses for the journey. Gareth was meant to be preparing for said journey, and the subsequent assault on the DEL’s castle. He’d already given commands to the highest ranking soldiers in Richard’s army and checked in on the armoury, but then Adelaide had started fussing in Richard’s arms and he couldn’t stay away.

If anyone had ever asked him if he wanted to be a father, especially to daughter, he would have laughed the obvious ‘no’ in their face. Once or twice – when he was a lot younger - he’d pictured training a small boy to fight, one that would do better than Richard ever had, or thought about drinking beers in the tavern with a young man. But the mother had never been in the picture and the child had never been a girl. The fact that it was no longer a fleeting fantasy and was in fact a harsh reality had only just started to sink in. He could at least make a guess on how to raise a boy - looking back on his shitty childhood or how he’d mostly succeeded in keeping Richard out of trouble - but raising a girl was a foreign concept entirely. All he knew was that he’d die for her – which was a terrifying concept since she was barely a person. There had only been two people in his life that he’d willingly risk his life for; the same two people who would also risk their lives for Adelaide.

“Why do babies wriggle so much?” One of those two people complained as he almost dropped Adelaide for the fourth time.

“I don’t think you’re holding her right.” Gareth winced at his friend, trying for the fifth time to take his daughter from Richard’s arms.

“How else do you hold a baby?”

“Support her head more; I don’t think babies have any neck strength at her age.”

Richard sighed in defeat as Adelaide’s flailing feet kicked him in the face. He handed her over to Gareth who held back a relieved sigh as he tucked her into his arms. Adelaide’s mouth twisted up in a baby version of a smile and she waved her arms around trying to grab onto Gareth. He smiled down at her, rocking his arms slightly for comfort. He looked up to see Richard grinning madly in his direction.

“I still can’t believe it,” Richard whispered loudly – he might have been the One True King, but he still couldn’t whisper properly to save his life. “She’s a tiny you.”

“More like a tiny Madalena.”

“You didn’t just get kicked in the face by her,” Richard grumbled. “Trust me; she’ll be a better fighter than you when she’s grown up.”

Gareth smiled slightly at the thought.

“And you’ve never been kicked in the face by Madalena.”

Richard looked at him quizzically for a second before shaking his head and continuing.

“I just can’t help but imagine a girl version of you.” He clenched both his fists together. “So badass.”

Gareth had to resist rolling his eyes - being around Madalena apparently made his reactions to Richard a lot more sarcastic.

“Richard, you can’t ignore that Madalena is her mother forever,” he said.

“I’m not! What makes you think I am?”

“Because she’s going to be a lot more like her mother than she is me.”

“She’s a baby. How would you even know that?”

“She already has two men wrapped around her little finger and she’s barely a month old.”

He looked meaningfully at Richard. The King looked blankly at him for a moment before his eyes widened in understanding and he moved closer to Adelaide.

“Oh my God, you’re right.” A burst of panic flashed over his face as he stared down at the baby in Gareth’s arms. “Can you imagine what she’ll be like when she’s a teenager?”

Gareth’s smile fell instantly. If Adelaide was _anything_ like Madalena his job as a father was going to be a nightmare.

“I’m going to have to threaten a lot of people in fifteen years’ time…” he grunted.

Richard pressed his lips together and smiled through a wince, clasping his hand down on Gareth’s shoulder. Adelaide took the moment to begin struggling in Gareth’s hold causing him almost to drop her. She made a whining noise in the back of her throat and both men looked at each other in wide eyed apprehension.

“Oh no…” Richard said, backing away.

“Wha…”

Gareth was cut off as Adelaide burst into full blown tears, all four limbs thrashing against his chest as she cried. Richard took one terrified look at Addie’s red, screaming face and muttered something about grabbing Madalena, before rushing out of the room. Gareth stared after him in disbelief, holding his daughter out at arm’s length as she continued to scream.

“Welcome to fatherhood,” he muttered to himself.

\--

Whilst everyone else was busy preparing, Madalena had happily found her way into someone’s bedroom and, more importantly, into their wardrobe. There was no way she was going to continue wearing peasant clothing when there were more regal outfits available to change into. She was arm deep in various fabrics when a woman entered the room only to stop suddenly and stare in confusion at Madalena. The woman moved a wary hand to the sword on her belt.

“Who are you?”

“Who are _you_?” Madalena answered back, scrunching her nose up slightly.

“Roberta Steingass.” She smiled, but it faltered when zero recognition appeared on Madalena’s face. “I’m…Richard’s future Queen.”

Madalena paused, hands stilling on the fabrics in front of her. She regarded Roberta for a moment, eyes roaming over the woman’s body before returning to her face. She was pretty, far too pretty for Richard.

“Willingly?” Madalena finally said in disbelief.

“What? Of course!” Roberta replied with narrowed eyes.

Madalena hummed in response and turned back to the clothes. So Richard had a fiancé, a _willing_ fiancé. It didn’t entirely make sense to her, even though she’d already admitted to herself that Richard was different now. She wondered what other ridiculous things she’d missed in the year she’d be training under the DEL. Her mind drifted to Galavant and…Galavant’s wife. She frowned. Was everyone getting married now? She stopped her train of thought before her mind could betray her by thinking of Gareth.

Madalena pulled a dress out of the wardrobe, probably more violently than necessary, and looked at it for a moment. Dissatisfied, she threw it to the side, letting it drop sadly to the floor.

“What are you doing?” Roberta asked.

Her hand was still resting worryingly on the hilt of her sword.

“What does it look like?” Madalena replied, voice heavy with sarcasm.

“It looks like you’re going through my wardrobe.”

“Wow, Richard,” Madalena said without looking up as the King entered the room, “I’m surprised the woman who loves _you_ of all people actually has a brain in that pretty red head of hers.”

“I…who _are_ you?” Roberta asked exasperatedly.

“Madalena, ex-wife.”

She continued to rifle through the wardrobe looking for something that would a) fit her, and b) be comfortable for a long journey (and, even though she wouldn’t admit it, even to herself, c) be appealing to Gareth). Roberta turned to face Richard, mouth slightly open with a look of surprised horror on her face. Richard, who looked horrified at the idea of Roberta and Madalena being in the same room, winced. Madalena stood up from being hunched in the wardrobe as the situation dawned on her.

“Oh,” she grinned sinfully. “…you never told her about me?”

“Wasn’t really a part of my life I like to look back on,” he snapped.

“Oh Richard, I’m hurt.” She laughed and moved to return to the wardrobe.  

“And technically…” he winced even harder. “We never got an actual annulment…”

The grin dropped from her face and she stood up straight again. With the arrival of Kingsley and everything else that had happened after Richard had ‘broken up’ with her, Madalena had never once stopped to think that nothing official had ever taken place.

“No…” She turned round to face him slowly.

“So…”

“No, Richard.”

“…we’re actually…”

“Richard if you finish that…”

“…still husband and wife.”

“I am going to kill you,” she hissed, though she wasn’t serious – mainly because she didn’t think Gareth would appreciate it if she incinerated his best friend.

She felt odd, as if she was nauseous but emotionally instead of physically. It wasn’t the fact that she was still technically married to _Richard_ that was making her feel like this; she’d survived two or so years of that ship wreck. Though it certainly had nothing to do with anything, or any _one_ , else. Roberta looked as ill as Madalena felt.

“Excuse me, hold on a second. We’re engaged to be married but you’re _still_ married?” Roberta interrupted, looking between Madalena and Richard. “To her?”

Offended, Madalena narrowed her eyes and threw a sardonic smile in Roberta’s direction.

“I never thought we’d see her again!” Richard whined, grabbing Roberta by the shoulders as if he thought she was going to run off.

Madalena sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“Richard,” she said, dropping her hand back down to her side. “When this is all over, if we’re not both dead, we’re getting the annulment that you owe me. There, problem solved.”

Roberta looked speechless, head jerking back and forth between them, eyes squinting in confusion.

“When _what_ is all over? Richard, what is going on?”

“It’s all a long story, Bobbi. Can we just put this in the past with all the other awful things you know I did?”

“Fuck you too, Richard,” Madalena muttered under her breath, though she garnered no reaction from either of the couple.

“But why is she here?” Roberta sounded concerned and Madalena balked at the idea that she was there to take Richard back. Richard stuttered a non-answer.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m here for Gareth, not Richard,” Madalena answered for him, turning towards the clothes in the wardrobe so they couldn’t see the slight embarrassment appearing on her face. “And now, I’m trying to find something to wear so it doesn’t look like I’m wearing what I think are actually just rags sewn together.”

Richard sighed and after a brief moment - where Madalena swore she could hear him mutter the words ‘super believe’ and ‘Tad Cooper’ - he launched into a long winded explanation that she couldn’t be bothered to listen to. Eventually, she heard him mention her name, dark magic, Gareth, Hortensia, and Adelaide, but the rest of his words were lost to her amidst some drivel about Galavant. So instead, she carried on ignoring him, continuing her search through the lines of dresses in Roberta’s wardrobe. Most of them were too long or extravagant for a journey or battle – though she fully intended on appropriating a few of the gowns she'd found at a later date - and the rest were far too prudish for her tastes. Not for the first time she found herself wishing her magic was more flexible and could just conjure clothing from the void. With a quiet grunt of frustration, she pettily threw a few more dresses to the floor and tuned back into Richard’s conversation.

“And so now we’re going to go and vanquish this DEL guy.”

“I don’t know which to be more in awe of,” Roberta said slowly. “That you’re off to go and fight a powerful wizard with no plan, or that Gareth managed to get someone as attractive as…”

She trailed off, noticing that Madalena was finally listening in to their conversation. Madalena raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips together in amusement, daring Roberta to continue speaking. The woman blushed slightly and bowed her head.

“Seems like we’re both confused about how certain men got certain women then,” Madalena smirked, eyes flicking down Roberta’s body before staring pointedly at Richard. “Anyway, I’m done here. Your clothes are awful.”

She smiled and patted Richard patronisingly on the cheek as she sauntered past, leaving the pair to stare after her in bewilderment.

\--

After she left Roberta’s wardrobe, Madalena found herself wandering aimlessly down the once familiar hallways of Richard’s castle. Her feet apparently decided on her destination by themselves as she soon ended up in front of Gareth’s room – at least, it had been his room before they’d left the castle to invade Valencia. Madalena went to knock only to be stopped by the sound of a baby screaming from inside the room. She heaved the door open and half ran into the room, magic crackling at her fingertips, only to stop dead at the sight in front of her.

Adelaide was laughing, not screaming, as Gareth swung her carefully through the air in his arms before pulling her even closer to him and tickling her sides. The scene was so un-Gareth that Madalena couldn’t stop the surprised laughter that burst from her. Gareth’s head jerked up at the sound and she laughed even harder at the smile that appeared on his face when he noticed her.

“Queenie!” He shouted happily. “There you are.”

Her laughter quietened down into a broad grin and she moved further into the room. Adelaide began struggling in Gareth’s arms at the sight of her mother and he wordlessly passed her over to Madalena.  She cooed softly at her daughter, wriggling her fingers against the baby’s stomach.

“Richard went to look for you ages ago,” Gareth said.

“Yeah? Well, he got distracted telling Roberta that he and I are technically still married,” she replied, her face displaying her disgust at the issue.

He stared at her for a moment and Madalena realised Gareth hadn’t known about the situation either. His silence was unnerving and she grimaced slightly.

“Did you know?” He eventually asked.

“That Richard and I were still married?” She laughed incredulously. “I threatened to murder him when he brought it up. So no, I didn’t.”

“So…probably a good thing we didn’t…” He pointed back and forth between them, a wince on his face.

“Oh, yeah…good thing we didn’t...do the whole wedding...thing.” She swallowed.

The room was beginning to feel uncomfortably warm. A year and a half ago, the idea of marrying Gareth had terrified her beyond belief. But with him stood across from her, light from the fireplace flickering across his face, something tugged at her chest.

“So why did you send Richard to find me in the first place?” She asked to change the subject.

“Addie wouldn’t shut up. Richard left to get you. Though, after he was gone, she seemed a bit happier.” He paused. “Like mother like daughter.”

Madalena smirked. She looked down at Adelaide and jostled her slightly, getting her into a more comfortable hold.

“It has been a couple of hours since you were last fed, hasn’t it?”

Madalena moved over to Gareth’s bed and sat on the edge. She shrugged off the shoulder of her dress – thankful, not for the first time, for the lack of corset in the piece of clothing – and pulled Adelaide to her breast for feeding. Gareth averted his gaze and Madalena rolled her eyes. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her breasts before.

“Ow, you little…”

She hissed as Adelaide nipped at her skin with her gums. The day she started teething was the day she stopped being breast fed.  

“Any future children are having a wet nurse,” she muttered bitterly, scowling slightly at Adelaide.

The words didn’t register in her mind until she looked up to find Gareth staring at her, eyes wide but face otherwise unreadable. Madalena closed her eyes and bit her tongue to distract herself from the heat of embarrassment flushing through her.

“So,” she forced a cheery tone into her voice. “How’s Richard’s army doing?”

Gareth remained silent. She swallowed thickly, subconsciously clutching Adelaide tighter to her. She hadn’t been thinking, obviously, her mouth spewing words before her brain could catch up. Madalena didn’t ever want to go through pregnancy and childbirth again – not that she’d ever wanted to in the first place. She loved Adelaide, more than anything, but another child was not in the plans for her future - whatever those plans entailed. Even if it was another child with Gareth. Even if it would be nice to have a son.

Madalena’s eyes shot open in surprise at her own thoughts. She met Gareth’s gaze and he coughed, apparently finished having an internal monologue of his own.

“It’s uh, good,” he grunted. “We still need Valencia and Hortensia though.”

She nodded meekly.

“I…”

She had too much to say and yet nothing to say at all. They fell back into awkward silence again, the only sounds were of Adelaide fussing against her chest.

“I missed you.”

Gareth spoke before she got the chance to. His voice was surprisingly quiet, and at first Madalena thought she’d imagined his words.

“I looked for you after you left…” She could hear the unspoken ‘me’ as clearly as if he’d actually said it. “I didn’t give up looking, even after I came back here.”

Her throat was burning with emotion. She bit her bottom lip hard and looked down at Adelaide to avoid Gareth’s eyes. Never in a million years had she believed he’d go looking for her. She thought he’d get over her, go back to Richard, and move on. Part of her was still scared at how much he truly loved her; though another part was selfishly smug.

“Would you have come back? If it wasn’t for Adelaide?” He murmured.

“No,” she breathed almost instantly, her reply barely audible, even to herself.

Madalena cursed her hormones as tears welled up in her eyes. She ducked her head to try and hide them, though she knew Gareth would be able to tell anyway. It hit her suddenly, that apart from Adelaide nestled against her, this was the first time she’d been alone with Gareth since Hortensia – almost a year ago.

“You chose them over me,” she said quietly, thumb stroking softly over Adelaide’s head for comfort.

“What?”

“In Hortensia,” she continued, her voice getting louder as she spoke. “I walked into the enemy, _alone_ , to keep you safe and you chose them over me.”

She looked up at him to find him staring at her in angry disbelief. She could see the tension in his jaw and his fists were clenched tightly by his sides.

“ _I_ betrayed _you_ ?” He growled out. “I told you my men could handle it. I told you we didn’t need that stupid dark magic shit. You went and got it anyway and then _lied_ about it to my face.”

He took two steps closer to her, eyes flicking down to Adelaide in her arms before moving back up to meet her gaze.

“Then you turned that dead army on our own men. On _me_. And if it weren't for Richard killing that prat, that dead army would have slaughtered me and Galavant in the back streets of Hortensia. After I ‘chose them over you’ did you figure I no longer mattered?”

Her heart was in her throat. Though a small part of her was immediately gravely upset at Wormwood’s demise. She suddenly had a great desire to see the man burn for ignoring her demands to keep Gareth safe. But she hadn’t stopped Wormwood from turning the dead on their own army and she’d trusted he would keep Gareth safe when, in hindsight, it had been an awfully stupid thing to do. She was as much to blame as the wizard.

“You betrayed _me_ , Queenie,” he said softly. “But I forgave you for it. And then you vanished without a trace for almost a year.”

Adelaide fussed against her, apparently finished with her feeding, and Madalena pulled away, tugging her dress back up her shoulder with her free hand. She stood up to burp her daughter, holding her carefully and patting her gently on the back. Madalena could see Gareth watching from the corner of her eye.

“I...I couldn’t stay,” she said quietly after a moment, shifting Adelaide back into her arms.

The baby yawned, little arms stretching out and knocking against Madalena’s shoulder. Her eyes fluttered shut and she fell asleep easily, curling into her mother’s body. Gareth said nothing, gaze flicking between her and Adelaide as he waited for her to continue speaking.

“I couldn’t stay, because I was scared.” She swallowed, keeping her focus on her daughter instead of looking at Gareth’s reaction. “Of how you felt, of how _I_ felt, of _us._ Galavant and the others wouldn’t have let me off lightly, and you know it. I’m not going back to being a weak and pitiful peasant girl, Gareth. I was born to rule, and no matter what, I will.”

Her voice gained strength as she spoke, her deep seated anger at the world coming to the forefront. She raised her eyes to his.

“There’s only one thing more important to me than power, and she’s currently sleeping in my arms.”

Madalena could see the muscles in his jaw flexing as he clenched his teeth together. He swallowed before nodding slightly.

“Alright.” His voice was tight but emotionless. “You can, uh, sleep here with Addie whilst we’re here. I’ll find somewhere else. If you need anything, there’ll be guards out in the corridor.”

Her mouth parted slightly as she looked at him in surprise. Gareth looked like he wanted to say something else, but with one final glance towards Adelaide, he turned and left his chambers leaving a strange sort of emptiness in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I hope you didn't think Maddie and Gareth were gonna find being back together easy. Sorry about that. 
> 
> So, uh, if anyone still cares about this fic...thoughts?


End file.
